By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Jeremiah Nelson made the most of his first-ever appearance in the Topeka Golf Association City Match Play event, going wire to wire to capture the championship.
Jeremiah Nelson poses with his championship trophy Sunday at Shawnee Country Club after winning the 2026 TGA City Match Play championship. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The former Washburn University golfer earned the top seed in qualifying with a 70 and posted four straight wins after receiving a first-round bye, capping his title run with a 4 and 3 win over Adam Head Sunday at Shawnee Country Club.
"I played really well today,'' Nelson said. "I had four birdies on the front and another one on the back, so I think I was 4-under through 15 holes and I thought I played pretty well.
"Adam just didn't enough putts to drop for him, but that's how match play goes.''
Jeremiah Nelson capped a dominating week in the TGA City Match Play tournament with a 4 and 3 win in Sunday's title match at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Nelson, who tied for second in the City Stroke Play tournament in 2025, jumped out to a four-hole advantage through the opening eight holes and Head, the three-time TGA City Player of the Year, got no closer than two holes the rest of the way before Nelson clinched the championship by halving the 15th hole.
"A couple of big par saves that kept it at a two-stroke lead on the back were huge,'' Nelson said. "I had a couple of 8-footers that I had to get to drop or it gets tighter and then anything can happen.''
Adam Head, a three-time city player of the year, finished second in Sunday's TGA City Match Play Tournament at Shawnee Country Club. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Head was quick to give Nelson credit for his match-winning performance Sunday.
"He didn't make any mistakes,'' Head said. "I didn't really put pressure on him the front nine. He was 4-under and there weren't many opportunities for me.
"He had two holes where he struggled on the back and was able to recover and just didn't give me a window to do anything to make those four shots up. A guy like Jeremiah, there's not much you can do when you don't have your best stuff. There was a small window and he closed it really fast.''
Emory Dease, a semifinalist in 2024, won the President's Flight title with a 2 and 1 decision over recent Hayden graduate Austin Bean, a Class 4A state qualifier this past spring.
